Trapped
by Kat097
Summary: After a fight, Raven is injured. She lies, trapped inside her own mind as Beast Boy sits at her bedside, saying what he couldn't sya when she was awake.


**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Or at least very little.**

**Trapped**

_So much pain… she couldn't remember the last time she felt pain this bad. It pressed down on her, pushing her to the Earth. Somewhere, someone was screaming. She wondered who it was._

_And then she realised._

_It was her._

_Something hard hit her head and she felt something warm trickling down the side of her face. Slowly, she opened her eyes._

_Darkness. Only darkness._

_She closed her eyes again. She was trapped. She didn't know where, but she was trapped somewhere. She didn't want to be here! She didn't want to be trapped. _

_She didn't want to die. But she couldn't possibly stay alive here. Her basic common sense told her that._

_She tried to move but something sharp was digging into her side. She licked her cracked lips._

_"Help me…" she whispered, "Help me…"  
_

* * *

Beast Boy shouted as the building collapsed. Most of the people had gotten away, but he caught sight of a figure stumbling as the building fell around her.

"Raven… Raven! Raven, get outta there!" He shouted. But it was too late. The building collapsed in a sickening crash.

"NO!"

Beast Boy ran at the rubble, coughing as the fine dust invaded his lungs. He fell to his knees, grabbing at rocks and pieces of metal.

"Raven! Raven!" He scratched at the rough materials until his hands were cut and bleeding. A hand grabbed his shoulder and Cyborg said,

"BB, get outta the way!" Cyborg scanned the rubble with his sensors. He shook his head in despair.

"Nothing… I can't find a body."

"There is no body! There's only Raven!"

"Wait!" Cyborg jumped as a slight beep emitted from his arm sensor. Beast Boy stared hopefully at him.

"I think… yes! Over here!" They jumped over the rubble, Starfire and Robin in hot pursuit. Cyborg stared down.

"Here. I'm picking up a slight heat sense."

"Raven, hold on. We're going to get you out of here." Beast Boy shouted, pulling at the rubble. Starfire used her alien strength to use heavier pieces while Cyborg dragged away large pieces. Robin and Beast Boy scrabbled at the ground.

* * *

_Why was she alone? This wasn't right. She was never alone. Not really. _

_She wanted so much to see them. If she was going to die she wanted to see them again first. She wanted to see Robin's determined face. She wanted to see Starfire's optimistic, pretty features. She wanted to see Cyborg's real eye twinkle as he grinned. _

_She wanted to see Beast Boy. She couldn't die without telling him. She just couldn't._

_"Beast Boy…" She murmured. Her hands pressed at the rock over her head. The sharp pain in her side was getting worse by the minute. She took a deep breath and tried to call out._

_"Help me!" But her voice seemed pathetically weak. It couldn't penetrate the darkness. _

_And the darkness was claiming her for itself.  
_

* * *

"I can still sense her." Cyborg said. He pressed a few buttons and said,

"10 metres… maybe a little more. But we gotta hurry. She'll be running out of air soon."

Beast Boy didn't stop pulling rocks. He turned into a gorilla and threw chunks of building material away, determined to reach her.

"Come on… we can do this…" He said, speaking more to himself than anyone else. Starfire grunted as she picked up a heavy slab of metal. Cyborg pulled at rock and bricks. Robin hit a rock with his pole until it cracked, enabling him to pull it to pieces.

* * *

_So this is where it ends, a sarcastic voice said in her ear. She shook her head._

_No. She wouldn't die. Not yet. _

_But it was getting harder and harder to breathe. With a rush of nausea she realised that the air was running out. A tear trickled down her cheek._

_Beast Boy… I'm sorry… I couldn't hold on any longer…_

_I'm sorry  
_

* * *

A shrill beeping emanated from Cyborg. He glanced down at the sensors in fear. The Titans all stopped and stared at him.

"It's stopped… the signals stopped…" Beast Boy stared at him for a moment and then dropped to his knees, still pulling at the building pieces.

"Beast Boy…"

"I'm not going to leave her down there!" He shouted. Only another metre to go. One more metre and then he'd be able to see her, touch her…

* * *

_She blinked hard. For a moment, she was almost certain that she could see a light. But it couldn't be._

"I'm coming, Raven!"

_Beast Boy?_

"Just hold on a little longer."

_I'm trying. It's too hard._

"Just don't… don't die. I'm almost there."

_Too hard… I'm sorry…_

"Don't give up on me! I'm not giving up on you, so don't you give up on me, OK?"

_…sorry…  
_

* * *

Beast Boy tugged at a piece of metal and threw it aside. And there she was. Her face. Bloodstained and bruised, but still so beautiful. Beast boy shouted,

"She's here! She's here!" He cleared away the rest of the rubble and leaned over to touch her face.

"Raven? Are you awake?"

No movement. Her eyes were closed. Beast Boy moaned in despair as he saw a long piece of metal rammed into her side. Cyborg bent down and scanned her.

"She's… she's still breathing! I don't believe it."

"We must help her!" Starfire cried. Robin ran off in search of an ambulance as Cyborg and Beast Boy lifted her from the hole. The metal scraped as it was pulled from her side and a fountain of blood flew from the wound. Beat Boy ripped off a section of her cloak and pressed it against the wound. Robin returned with medical staff.

"Don't worry, we'll take it from here." One said as they lay Raven down on a stretcher and carried her away.

* * *

The wait seemed unbearably long. Starfire sat, head in hands, as they waited. Robin looked at her once or twice, as if wanting to offer comfort but finding none to give. Cyborg was staring at the floor and Beast Boy was pacing the waiting room. Occasionally he would stop, look at the clock, glance at the door and then continue his pacing.

Finally a doctor emerged, removing a pair of bloodstained gloves. They all leapt to their feet. The doctor looked at them.

"You're Raven's family?"

"Yes." Starfire said quietly. He motioned for them to sit down. They did so, unwillingly. The doctor massaged his forehead with one hand.

"I'm afraid it's quite serious. Raven's still unconscious and frankly, the chances of her waking up are minimal. The head trauma she's suffered alone could kill her, as well as the multiple wounds."

"Isn't there anything else you can do?" Robin asked in despair. The doctor shook his head.

"We've done all we can. The nurses are putting her to bed in a private room. You can go and see her in a moment."

* * *

_Am I still alive? She wondered. She didn't feel dead, but she didn't feel alive. _

_She felt trapped. But she didn't think that she was still buried under all that rock. There was less pressure here. But the darkness was still absolute._

_Where was Beast Boy? She was almost certain that she had heard him. Was he here too?_

_"Beast Boy?" She whispered. There was no reply.  
_

* * *

The Titans stared down at Raven. Her face had been wiped clean and she looked as if she was sleeping peacefully. Starfire gasped suddenly and started to sob. Robin hugged her tightly and she buried her face in his shoulder. Cyborg sank down into a chair, clutching his head in his hands. Beast Boy could only stare at the beautiful face.

"Guys, I'm gonna take Starfire home." Robin said. Beast Boy nodded and Cyborg said,

"OK… we'll come back later."

Beast Boy sat down on the end of the bed as they left. He blinked hard as though trying to acknowledge the situation.

"You OK man?" Cyborg asked. Beast Boy started to nod but slowly changed it to shake his head.

"She looks so… weak."

"I know. But she'll pull through. She always does."

"How do we know that? These dumb doctors aren't even trying! For god's sake, they're just gonna let her die!"

"Beast Boy-"

"Look at her! It's all their fault, they won't save her!"

"Beast Boy!"

The changeling stopped and started at him. He was on his feet, glaring.

"Shut up and sit down!"

He did so.

"Now listen to me. You ain't the only one who loves her, you know that? Of course not, you're too wrapped up in your own world to notice. So don't you dare think that she isn't gonna make it. If you love her in the least bit, you better believe that she's gonna live. Cos she is. Get it?"

Beast Boy gaped at Cyborg. He was going slightly red, as though he had revealed his deepest secret.

"You… you love her too?"

"Yeah. But I know she don't love me, so I'm not gonna push her. You… you've still got a chance. Just don't give up on her, OK?"

"O-OK." Beast Boy said, shocked. Cyborg settled back in his chair. Beast Boy watched Raven's chest rise and fall. Cyborg seemed to be brooding.

Beast Boy didn't know what to say. It hadn't occurred to him that Cyborg might have had feelings for Raven too. He just hadn't seen that far. All he knew was that he was crazy about her.

He just hoped he'd have a chance to tell her so.

* * *

Three days passed. Slowly.

Beast Boy was awake on the fourth day early. He looked at his watch. He'd go to the hospital. They'd know where to find him if they needed him. He grabbed a smoothie from the refrigerator and drank it on the way.

Raven was lying in the same position she had been in for the past four days. Beast Boy took his usual seat at her side and sighed. The regular beep of the heart monitor was the only sound in the room.

"Morning Raven. Beautiful day today. Really sunny." He said quietly, eyes on his hands. He lipped his lips.

"Wish you could see it. It might even make you smile."

* * *

_"Wish…could…might even… smile…"_

_Beast Boy's voice… she looked around in the darkness, searching for him. Where was he? His voice was so near…_

_"Beast Boy? Where are you? I can't see you…"_

_"OK…You… in case… say no… prove…can."_

_The voice was getting clearer. She strained to hear.  
_

* * *

Beast Boy held her slender hand in his.

"OK, I'm gonna ask you this before you wake up, in case you say no. Just to prove that I can."

He rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand. The skin was soft and cold.

"Raven… I want you to go out with me. There. I said it. I want you to go out with me."

* * *

_"I want… out with me… said it… go out…me."_

_Raven was terrified. Please, please let this be what she thought it was. Please don't let this just be a dream.  
_

* * *

"I've planning this for quite a while, you know. Trying to figure out what would be the perfect date. Took me ages, but I think I've got it planned out. We'd start out at one of those caf's you like. Make sure it was an open mic night. I know you love that poetry reading stuff. Then I figured we could go for a walk on the beach. F'course it'd be dark by then, but in my head there's this big full moon, so that's OK. And after that we could get something to eat. Not a big meal. Maybe a snack, like a sandwich or something. Then, we could go back to the Tower. The others would be in bed. I'd walk you to your room and tell you how much fun I had. And then… I'd tell you that I love you. And maybe kiss you, if you don't look too freaked out. And hopefully you'll tell me that you love me too."

Beast Boy stared down at the pale hand.

"What do you think? Would that be any good? Cos it's true, you know. I do love you. I wasn't going to tell you yet, but you're asleep so I don't think it matters. This is just a practise run, right? When I do it properly, when you're awake, it'll be harder. But because I've practised it'll be OK. So, what do you think? Do you think you'd go out with me?"

* * *

_"Yes."  
_

* * *

_  
_

"Yes."

Beast Boy froze. He watched as the pale fingers curved around his, tightening their grip on him. His head rose to meet her dark eyes. A slight smile spread across her lips. Beast Boy stared at her and then grinned.

"You mean it?"

"It sure isn't the unconsciousness speaking." Raven whispered. Beast Boy blinked hard, as if blinking back tears. Raven smiled again.

"I missed you." She told him.

"Missed you too. Um… Raven?"

"Yes?"

"Exactly how much of that did you actually hear?"

"…Most of it. Might have missed the first couple of line."

"Oh. Right. Well, you know, I'd better call the others. Let them know you're OK. I'll be back in a minute."

"Alright."

She waited until the door had closed before whispering.

"I love you too."

The End


End file.
